Eagle To Be Freestanding Lumbermens Sub

The Kemper Insurance Companies has completed its previously announced acquisition of Seattle-based comp writer Eagle Insurance Group. Eagle's two operating companies, Eagle Pacific Insurance Company and Pacific Eagle Insurance Company, will operate together as a separate, free-standing subsidiary of Lumbermens Mutual Casualty Company, Kemper's flagship insurer.

"Kemper's strategy is to expand into specialty lines of insurance that are complementary to our core businesses," says David B. Mathis, Kemper chairman and chief executive officer. "Eagle is a perfect fit, and we are pleased to have them as part of the Kemper organization."

Eagle had 1997 sales of $49.8 million and assets of $191.0 million. Kemper is the 17th-largest property-casualty insurer in the United States with operations in many foreign markets. It is a leading provider of insurance, reinsurance and risk management services. Kemper, with 9,500 employees worldwide, had 1997 revenues of $4.4 billion and assets of $11.1 billion.